Naturally, the young man thought about using all of the buffs in his arsenal to see how much damage he could deal with the arquebus' newly obtained skill.
However, as he had initially planned to take the Gates of Awakening's trials, he eventually decided otherwise as he began to make his way back to the temporary campsite.
Once there, he checked yet again as to whether or not he had brought all of the items he might need once he was inside the trial grounds.
Of course, Valyr had also checked on the party chat to see if the others had sent him a message whilst he was playing around with his newly upgraded arquebus.
Seeing that there were no responses from the four whatsoever during the time he was out, the young man faintly shook his head and let out a sigh.
Then, shifting his focus to what he need to do, the young man took a deep breath before bringing up a prompt he had ignored for quite some time.
Ding!
[You have obtained a Key to the Gates of Awakening. Would you like to use it now?]
Staring at the screen that had appeared before him, Valyr closed his eyes for a bit as he began to compose himself.
Feeling like he had returned to a tranquil state, only then did the young man open his eyes once more, soon confirming the prompt that had appeared.
Whoosh!
In less than an instant after the confirmation, Valyr's body disappeared from where he previously stood, eventually being sent to a place that reminded him of the hell he had previously experienced.
"The trial grounds…" murmured the young man, looking around his surroundings to see if anything had changed about the place.
Finding out that there was no difference to the trial grounds whatsoever between the organizations, the young man eventually decided to bide his time, soon hearing the ever familiar voice resound throughout the barren field not long after.
'Greetings, trial taker.'
'Welcome to the opportunity that may allow you to soar to ever greater heights.'
…
Algerie Kingdom.
Within one of the halls of the kingdom's royal palace.
"How are our men faring?"
Staring at the small stack of parchments that had been handed to him, a man with a neatly-combed mustache began to frown, eventually looking at the other people that sat around the same table.
"It's not looking good, Commander," said the demure-looking woman that sat beside the man, her expression as calm as a pool of water.
"Though, at the same time, it's not that bad either."
Hearing the woman's words, the commander looked at her with a hint of interest.
"Elaborate."
"Well, as we all know, it's been three months since the skirmish between the humans and the orcs had expanded into a full-on war." Nodding in response, the woman looked at everyone around the table before beginning to explain the situation.
"At first, our side had been on the losing end due to how sudden the orcs had ramped up their defensive," said the woman, prompting some at the table to nod in agreement.
"Add the fact that some of the orc emperor's greatest warriors had joined the fray, it took quite some time to regain our bearings."
"Do we have any idea as to how many of the Khorza'an's Chosen had joined?" chimed in a middle-aged man that was near the other far end of the table.
In response, the woman slightly shook her head. "We only have a rough estimate."
"Some say that a few dozen of the Khorza'an's Chosen had chosen to join in on the fight now that it's become a war," she said. "Then again, our intelligence groups are working their hardest to obtain the information we need."
"Let's save the talk about the Khorza'an's Chosen for a later time," said the commander all of a sudden. "Continue where you previously left off."
"Understood." Feeling as if she were being strangled whilst the commander was looking at her, the woman inwardly let out a sigh of relief after the man had allowed her to continue.
"By the time we had regained our bearings, the Meltierre Empire had informed everyone of the ongoing war between the humans and the orcs."
"With that, we were able to enlist the aid of the other nearby kingdoms. However, we've also expanded the battlefield between the two races to the same extent."
"With the influx of talented fighters coming from the multiple kingdoms, we have returned the balance of the war to where it could be said that it could tip over to one side at any point."
"Though, recent reports say that the orcs are planning yet another offensive that might tip the scales to their favor," the woman concluded her explanation.
At the moment she was done, many of the people around the table began to talk about what had been explained.
Nevertheless, at some point, the table eventually quietened down, with the commander staring at a middle-aged man with a head of sparse maroon hair.
"How's the progress on that project of yours, Julian?" asked the commander.
"Though we've successfully been able to forge a set of armor that considerably boosts the user's overall capabilities, we've only been able to expand it to the Common+ rarity," said Julian in response.
Going silent for a bit, the commander nodded. "How many points does the Common+ grade armor set give to all stats?"
"It depends on the one wearing it," replied Julian. "But on average, the boost is around 20 points per stat."
Hearing those words, a great portion of the people around the table began to murmur once more, thinking that a boost of 20 points to all stats was already quite substantial.
In fact, even the commander was of the same opinion, looking at Julian with a face of confusion in response. "That's already plenty good, no?"
Julian wryly smiled. "That may be the case in your eyes, but it's a far cry from the armor set I've stumbled upon in the past."
Saying those words, the man recalled the information he had gleaned upon a certain young man's piece of armor, causing him to inwardly let out a sigh.
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were to not believe me…"
"But compared to the armor set we've created so far, the armor set I've come across in the past…"
"Easily boosted every stat by over a hundred points."
